Step 7: Done? Already?

Step 8: Serving

Here's a picture of a few ways to serve tamagoyaki, I didn't have any meal associated with creating this instructable, so I just sliced it up. I brow...

When I was very young I was treated to sushi for the first time in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. I remember it fondly because I was amazed at the sushi bar's method of serving, small, multicolored plates of sushi on a conveyor belt continuously rolled by my toddler level eyes.

Honestly a bit afraid of what my parents were now urging me to try, I grabbed the safest looking plate. It didn't look like raw fish, more like a piece of tofu or egg on a "fun size" morsel of rice.

Well, it was, and let me tell you, tamagoyaki (tah-mah-go-yah-kee, or just tamago) still has a warm place in my heart.

Tamagoyaki is basically an omelette, it can be eaten by itself or placed on rice as nigiri sushi (nigiri - knee-gee-ree).

i've never used mirin in cooking (until recently) because i cant consume alcohol for religious reasons. i've finally figured out how to make a decent non-alcoholic substitute so i cant wait to try this!

@AlKaswa - I didn't even notice that someone had replied to by comment back in 2010 until Instructables emailed me when Creamaster below commented XD.

Mirin is a very sweet rice wine. The alcohol content is around 8% and while it is true that most of this 8% will burn off, at least Islamicly we still shouldn't consume foods where alcohol is intentionally added to it. I say intentionally added because there would be a difference if you were preparing something that 'started' to ferment but was not fermented yet (to a point where it could cause the effects of intoxication), vs you preparing something and then adding small amounts of known alcohol into it. The later is not permissible.

Anyhow, back on topic, I've seen a few non-alcoholic substitutions for mirin. Usually when added to asian cooking, mirin isn't just for the sweet flavor but also to add that shiny luster and to deglaze pots, etc. While these substitutions are of course Not Mirin, and since I've never actually had mirin myself I can't say for self it does the same thing or even taste the same, this is what I have been doing:

FYI: I'm not sure if this will satisfy your Priest/Rabbi/Mullah or self, but if alcohol is your concern, it is possible to remove it while keeping the flavour of the bottle as the cooking process evaporates the alcohol.

If you'd like to be extra sure, you can also pour the cooking wine into a shallow bowl and light the liquid on fire. The slow blue flame will burn off most of the alcohol before you cook and the cooking itself with remove the remainder, leaving only the taste.

Good recipe, however your heat was FAR too high. Either that, or you simply cooked it too long before rolling it. Your tamago should not come out browned, but rather a pale, uniform sunny yellow color...

absoloutely delicious! I had to improvise due to lack of equipment so I used a frying pan, and it worked brilliantly. You should try putting some sweet chilli sauce in with the mixture it makes it very tasty. Thanks for a great instructable!

A while back, I went to this little restaurant called Taiko Japanese, and they had the best unagi I have ever tasted. So, I'm wondering if there is a place in the Midwest that I could buy unagi meat from?

Yeah, I know it's contradictory, but the friend that inspired this dish (who is strict vegan now), was a vegetarian before, and eggs were okay (as long as they were from her own chickens). Even now I believe she is willing to eat her own chickens eggs, but I'm not exactly sure.

I love this stuff but i make it a bit different, i make a thin layer to begin with, roll it up, push it to the back then add more mix, cook, roll push back and repeat... you then get a long spiral inside which looks pretty :D

So is it supposed to have discernible layers, or is supposed to look like a big thick uniform piece of egg? I think I've seen it both ways in restaurants, and I can even imagine both styles having associated skill requirements and followers...